Midi baroque: Danses désarmantes

Ayres, Masques & Antimasques

The combination of a small, lively flute of multiple origins and influences with a harpsichord evokes the splendours of the Court’s Symphonies and Antimasques, but also the disarming bluntness of the Ayres, melodies from the remote English countryside. The Masques were related to the sumptuous dances of noble patrons in disguise, who created allegorical performances and dances in the presence of the royal family, while the anti-masques were burlesque and satirical...